Jaden Toussaint, The Greatest Episode 5: Mission Star-Power by Marti Dumas
82 pp. Plum Street Press
(Picture book; ages 5-9)
978-194316927-6
www.martidumasbooks.com
Lights...Camera...Action? Not only is Jaden Toussaint an aspiring animal scientist...he's also an aspiring TV star! But will JT get is chance at stardom?
Jaden and his sister Sissy love her new e-reader. They use it for everything: watching videos, playing games, etc. Everything but actually reading. Mama and Baba are prepared to take it away, but strike a deal with Jaden and Sissy to monitor their e-reader use. The two want to upload their own videos, but their parents say know. That changes when Jaden's class decides to do a play, and he strikes up a plan to have it recorded and put on the internet. (There goes that super-duper brain again!) Jaden and his class are all set, but trouble brews when Winston doesn't want to be in the play and Jaden comes to terms with his own stage fright.
A story within a story within a story. Marti Dumas layers Mission Star-Power, folding and unfolding the narrative and setting it in place so smoothly. Tackling issues of stage and caring for one's friends, Dumas spins this story with pointed pacing, making every word count as a master storyteller should. The illustrations are clever and textured, bolstering the wit of this new episode.
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